#pokediger

(A camera flicks on, without its owner, Dylan ‘Hyper’ Plays, noticing a thing. He believes it’s run out of battery.) (He’s pacing around a room whose walls are falling apart due to the mushrooms and mould growing within, out the cracks and all over. He’s avoiding it at any means necessary.) (Heavy breathing, as Hyper holds a phone tightly to his ear, having just been talking to a friend, Kreek Craft, on it.) 

[???]

(Distant.) Oh, Hyper~! [HYPER]

(Whispered.) Oh god- Kreek, he’s nearby, what do I-

[KREEK]

(From over the phone) Hang on, we’re on our way! Remember, that thing- it’s not Poke anymore. It’s a monster wearing his skin, okay? Whatever it says to you, however it tries to get sympathy from you, it’s lying, don’t listen to anything-

(Hyper’s connection fizzles out as something enters the room he’s in.)

(The camera pans and shows what that ‘something is’ - one Zachary ‘Poke’ Diger, Hyper’s best friend and business partner. Or at least, what’s left of him. There’s mushrooms and mould coming out of his arms, legs, chest and skull, seemingly spreading and growing as he stands there, something green dripping out of every orifice, his skin having taken on a sickly undertone.)

[POKE]

(Upbeat as ever.) There you are! Geez, Hyper. Really made me look for you. 

[HYPER]

(Absolutely petrified.) You’re- you’re not Poke, are you?

[POKE]

Now what gave you that impression? It’s still me! Just made some…(Poke points to one of the mushrooms growing out of his arms.)...new friends, you know? 

[HYPER]

…Don’t lie. 

[POKE]

I’m not lying! I still remember when we met when we were little kids, those little playdates we had together, your parents deciding my parents weren’t safe, us starting our channel together, us promising to stick together for the rest of time…if it wasn’t still me, would I remember that? 

[HYPER]

(Semi convinced) …What do you want? 

[POKE]

I want you to join me! 

(Hyper sharply inhales.) 

I mean, we’ve stuck to that promise since then, haven’t we? And I get it, it’s a bit terrifying. Letting these little guys grow under your skin and take over. But…I wouldn’t have let them do it had they not helped me. They promised friendship, and…uh, well, you know me. 

It’s like…becoming what loves you, in a sense. It soothes you, and makes you feel more loved than you ever have before. 

(As Poke talks, Hyper starts to sneak around him, trying to get in front of the doorway so he can make an escape.) 

But you’re my best friend, Hyper. You’re the one person that I could rely on, the one person I still had in my corner, the one person I could trust. I don’t want to lose you. So you should join us! And we can stay friends for the rest of forever, just like you promised! 

You heard them singing too, didn’t you? Their singing of love and family and all of that? Don’t you want that? 

[HYPER]

Poke, I- 

(Hyper’s managed to position himself by the door, starting to back through.) 

I don’t know if I…

[POKE]

(Realising what Hyper’s trying to do.) 

Wait, where are you- don’t! 

(Poke reaches forward and grabs Hyper’s shoulders, but doesn’t do anything else yet.) 

I won’t make you- no, wait, I might- (He’s seemingly struggling against his own thought process.) I don’t want to force you to join us if you don’t want to, Hyper. But…I don’t want to lose you, you know? So, if you’re gonna try and leave, then…

[HYPER]

(Frozen still.) Y-you’re gonna fill me with fungi anyway, no matter what I pick.

[POKE]

… (Poke laughs a bit) Maybe? 

Please. Please don’t go. It’ll be safer if you just stay anyway, they might not like it if you try to leave. 

(Weakly) Best friends ‘till the end, remember? 

(Hyper’s silent. He wants to believe Kreek so badly, that this isn’t his best friend gone mad and he should just run for it, but he can’t ignore the fact that’s clearly Poke speaking. That it’s still his best friend, who chose to let the fungus take him.)

(Well, it’s not like fighting back did him much good. But he’s still got people in his corner - people he knows full well Poke didn’t have. So, despite hearing those mushrooms beg him to join them and his own guilt, Hyper makes his decision.) 

[HYPER] 

I’m…I’m gonna have to decline, man. We can still be friends! It’s just- I don’t think I can…

(Hyper trails off at seeing Poke’s trademark cheery smile drop. Before he can react, though, someone else manages to get in and throws a rock at Poke, knocking him to the ground.) (The camera turns as Hyper whips around to see Kreek and Bella, Kreek holding another rock in case it’s needed.) 

[KREEK]

Hyper, get behind me, now! 

(Hyper obliges, running behind Kreek and grabbing onto Bella for dear life.)

[BELLA]

(Comforting) Don’t worry, buddy, we’ve got you. (Poke slowly drags himself to his feet as Kreek uses his arm to push Hyper and Bella back, putting himself between them and him. Poke doesn’t pay attention to Kreek, instead holding direct eye contact with Hyper.)

(Before they can react, Poke pushes past and lunges for Hyper.) (Hyper screams, and the camera switches off with a click.)

~~~~~~

Don't worry, Hyper will be fine.

Kreek Craft

The [Beholding’s Special Little Boy] Head Archivist

Workaholic, obsessive over anything mysterious/paranormal

Was promoted after the ‘death in the line of work’ of his

predecessor, Dan Minecart

Feels responsible for the safety and health of his employees

Refuses to talk about why he believes in the supernatural

Dummy

Devoun Monarch

The nicest guy in the Archives Lied on his CV

Jackeryz bullied him and trapped him in his apartment for 7 days

The longest out of the OG Archive crew to not get traumatised

Until the Collective get their hands on him that is

Super loyal to his friends

Tries to stay optimistic at all times even when he Absolutely Shouldn’t

Denis Daily

Literally only joined the Archives because of the pay raise, does not care at all

The Distortion loves to mock him

After an interaction with an Avatar of the End, he loses his ability to feel fear

Brings his cat to work sometimes (he really shouldn’t)

“Hey boss can I make memes”

Night-Foxx Nebula

Other than Kreek, has the longest tenure at the Institute

‘The Reliable One’, used to work in Storage

Super strong

Overworks himself a LOT

Joined the Institute to try and find his missing brother, Ominous Nebula

Unknowingly is part of the Nebula family who worships the Vast

This leads to his inevitable downfall

Ends up becoming an Avatar of the Vast

Dylan ‘Hyper’ Plays

Host of the YT Channel ‘Bloxburg Ghostbusting’ with Poke

The ‘Hyper’ stands for ‘Hyperventilating

First came to the institute to look for darker cases to film

Already anxious, suddenly becomes super paranoid in Arc 2

Later joins the Archives, though not out of free will

Poke is his best/childhood friend, becomes friendly with Tanqr and Ashley

Zachary ‘Poke’ Diger

Host of the YT Channel ‘Bloxburg Ghostbusting’ with Hyper

The ‘Poke’ stands for ‘Poking his nose where it shouldn’t be’

Had the idea to use the institute for darker cases

Though him and Hyper are locked out of the ‘real’ stuff until they happen to be there when Night-Foxx goes missing / Jackeryz attacks

Overconfident but also easily scared

Tanqr Titanium

Works at the Arsenal Activity Range

Is marked by the Slaughter, is slowly turning into an avatar

Hair dye and guitar enthusiast

Bandites is his best friend

Also later joins the institute (not by choice)

Immediately starts plotting to kill Russo

The later in the timeline, the longer his hair

Bandites White

Works at the Arsenal Activity Range

Tanqr’s best friend

Dragged Tanqr to the Institute to make a statement after being attacked by Jackeryz

Expert at survival, so helps out when the Institute is attacked

Excellent at conflict de-escalation

Becomes Tanqr’s Morality Chain

This attracts Sabrina’s attention (in a bad way)

Lego P.G.H.L Films

Begins working in the Archives after Night-Foxx disappears

Has 4 middle names. His parents were weird.

Also lied on his CV, he’s like 18

His family were Hunters, they were killed as a result

Finds comfort in the Dark

Shy and feels under appreciated at first, comes out of his shell with time

Bella Cinder

Interning in the RB Institute’s Library

Wants to join the Archives, instead she resorts to providing the Archives with information and hangs around there

This means she’s a bystander to A Lot Of Things

Best friends with Pink Leaf & is Booshot Mistr’s cousin

Looks after some random kid calling himself ‘Timmeh’

This turns out to be a mistake

Ashley Unicorn

Substitute Teacher at Royale High School

Comes to the Archives to make a statement, ends up befriending Hyper and Tanqr

Becomes ‘allies’ with Peetah Bread, hence her connection to the Buried

Tries her darndest to stay out of trouble

Ends up throwing herself into trouble to save her friends

Will not take any of your nonsense

Sabrina Brite

Avatar of the Web

Doesn’t actually work at the Institute, just hangs around

Tends to tease the people she’s manipulating a lot

Works alongside Russo with all the Archives nonsense

Filled to the brim with spiders

Dresses up in Vintage clothing because why not

Has villainous flair down to a science

Russo Talks

Director of the RB Institute and Avatar of the Eye

Pretends to be a nice friendly boss at first, reveals his malicious intent later

Has the ability to read minds and is vaguely omnipotent

The Big Bad of the story

Still makes so many puns even after he’s revealed he’s evil

Quite a hammy guy honestly, how on earth did he end up as the Director of the Institute

There’s a chance he’s not actually Russo

Deejay Monopoli

Avatar of the Hunt

Not officially employed at the Institute but acts as Russo’s bodyguard

The only ‘not evil’ one of the hosts, but he’s still an avatar/murderer

“I miss my wife, Russo”

Has tried to kill Russo before, now is unable to due to blackmail

He’s not given up on trying to get his wife back, has given up on everything else though